State strands nine, falls to Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – A three-run sixth inning was the difference as the 24th-ranked Mississippi State baseball team dropped a 4-1 decision to Georgia in an SEC baseball game played Friday night at UGA’s Foley Field.
With the defeat, the Maroon and White saw a four-game win streak in league play snapped. MSU fell to 19-7 overall and 4-3 in conference play, while Georgia improved to 12-14 and 4-3.
In the UGA sixth inning, Levi Hyams began the inning with a single. That hit ended the night for MSU starter Devin Jones. After a strikeout and balk call on MSU reliever Chad Girodo, Kyle Famer hit a two-run home run breaking a 1-1 tie. Zach Cone then reached on a one-out single. Andrew Busby followed Girodo to the mound. After a walk, balk and wild pitch, Kevin Ruiz closed the game’s scoring with a sacrifice-fly.
Perhaps the game’s turning point happened an inning earlier. In the fifth inning, the Maroon and White loaded the bases with nobody out but failed to score. Georgia ace Alex Wood recovered with three consecutive strikeouts to snuff that threat.
“We couldn’t put the ball in play when it mattered most,” MSU head coach John Cohen said. “We had the bases loaded and nobody out and couldn’t score. That really hurt us. We really had them on the ropes but couldn’t find a way to take the lead.”
For the contest, MSU actually stranded nine base runners, compared to two for Georgia. The Bulldogs had first and second with one out in the first inning and did not score. The last at-bat also showed promise as C.T. Bradford and Frazier began the inning with back-to-back singles.
The series resumes with a 1 p.m. first pitch today. MSU is scheduled to start. MSU is scheduled to start sophomore right-hander Chris Stratton (4-1, 2.61 ERA), while UGA is scheduled to start junior right-hander Michael Palazzone (3-1, 2.15 ERA).